While I wouldn't consider a purchase anytime soon (the price tag, for me, is still too high) it could be the first of many electric cars that start changing many people's perceptions about them (including my own).

This is an interesting question because I am well aware of my own double standards. I like the internal combustion engine and I think most electric cars of the past generation have been an awful sham, novelty cars with not very good capabilities appealing to environmentalists who don't really understand the environment and overlook the fact that these cars have to be built and then scrapped.

That said, more recently, there have been some genuine advances and an apparent will to actually make these cars viable, and I applaud that.

After all, I happily venerate the Lohner Porsche and Camille Jenatzy's La Jamais Contente so I would be one hell of a hypocrite to say that I will never appreciate any modern electric car, it's just that I don't think the one that could "turn" me has been built yet or is even anywhere near being built.

I had the pleasure of driving the "mule" which was a standard 3 series but electric.

It was delightful, but I did comment at the time, that if the production car looked anything like a Smart, it was not for me.

Also, at the risk of being labeled a sourpus, I would point out that if we all went electric, there would not be enough capacity on the grid to cope, this plus the mining (China) of the rare earths used in the motor and batteries, and of course the resulting recycling costs of failed 3 year old battery packs may be an an issue?

If polution and being "Green" (naive) is the end game, could I also mention that the production of a vehicle is the time when most "polution" occurs.

Destroying rainforest and fertile land for biofuel should be a crime, but I suppose we could always rely on sustainable whale oil from Japan?

Perhaps an original 60's Mini carefully maintained, would have less overall impact on the planet, but there again, a Stanley Steamer may be preferable.

I had the pleasure of driving the "mule" which was a standard 3 series but electric.

It was delightful, but I did comment at the time, that if the production car looked anything like a Smart, it was not for me.

Also, at the risk of being labeled a sourpus, I would point out that if we all went electric, there would not be enough capacity on the grid to cope, this plus the mining (China) of the rare earths used in the motor and batteries, and of course the resulting recycling costs of failed 3 year old battery packs may be an an issue?

If polution and being "Green" (naive) is the end game, could I also mention that the production of a vehicle is the time when most "polution" occurs.

Destroying rainforest and fertile land for biofuel should be a crime, but I suppose we could always rely on sustainable whale oil from Japan?

Perhaps an original 60's Mini carefully maintained, would have less overall impact on the planet, but there again, a Stanley Steamer may be preferable.

The Curmudgeon.

All of Mr Curmudgeon's remarks above should be repeated often and loud.

The so-called 'Green' benefits of all of these recent hybrid/battery/electric alternatives are dubious at best, probably even worse than what we already have, but just remember today's technology (and especially the car companies) are driven by the marketing department first and foremost, and now they have managed to convince half the world that we are destroying the planet and they are here to save us.

They have no better vision of the future than I do of next week's Lotto numbers, but if it sells today, who cares about next year!

Biofuels would be a better alternative, but then there is the question of where is it going to come from when the world already does not have enough farming land left to feed itself.

Of course there is still the same cost of manufacture. While most of the car industry in the civilised world is disappearing because of high wages and stricter pollution regulation, the Asian manufacturers not only have much cheaper labour available, but do not care about how much pollution they chuck out, and they are still on the same planet as the rest of us.

These cars still exist to serve MP's agendas for green and 'feel good' purposes, along with placating activists' thirst at us, poor motorists, and further inmposing limitations/conditions on motoring manufacturers. They are completely flawed for all the reasons mentioned above, and more. Championed by the insidious to the ignorant.

I attended a seminar on Global Co2 polution several years ago, and on the subject of man-made gases harming our beloved rock, less than 3% was due to gas guzzling automobiles. The biggest culprits? Houses, shipping and industry....